Not So Good

Well, the trip didn't start off too well. I missed my flight out to Detroit for starters. So I was put on a shuttle up to the Syracuse airport to catch another flight. When I got to Detroit, I had no ride to get to our hotel. We were staying 45 minutes away and the rest of the coaches needed to be with the team at the time so I decided to take a lovely $90 cab ride to my hotel. So far, a great way to start off a trip.

The Big Red had a rough weekend to say the least. Things just didn't seem to go our way but you have to expect that at this tournament. We had some great matches and our fair share of bad ones. In all, we ended up with 4 All-Americans. I know it sounds good but when you finish in 12th place, it hurts. On a good note, Cornell wrestling has really raised the bar. It is expected to go to the National tournament and to become an All-American. It's not a hope anymore. Out of the 4 All-Americans that we had only one is leaving. Senior Jerry Rinaldi became a 2-time All-American this weekend. I wish I had more time with him. He was great to work with and will be missed by everyone. Out of the other three AA, two are sophomores and one is a freshman. Retaining this talent is great for us for next year, so expect great things.

I was able to get on the mat a couple of times at the tournament to drill and warm up the CU guys. I did have a good work out with one of my former coaches from MN, now assistant coach at Iowa St., Tim Hartung. It was nice to get on the mat with him because he is such a competitor and a great work out partner. We drilled for 15-20 minutes and then went a long live go. Tim eventually had to get back to his team so Lawrence and I play wrestled for another 10 or so minutes before leaving.

It was nice to see the boys and the fans from MN this weekend. It brings back those good ol' memories. In all, it was a bitter sweet weekend for me. If Cornell couldn't win the National Title then I wanted Minnesota to do it. Big Daddy Cole Konrad and I wrestled on the same team, so it was nice to see him finish out his career as the most decorated wrestler in Minnesota's history.

Training camp is coming up and preparing for the US open is the most important thing right now. I will keep you informed on training and how things are going.